A desire to see Berwick Bandits survive and thrive

The new speedway season is just two months away, but the new-look promotional team at Berwick is not letting the grass grow under their feet.

They are already being pro-active and are hopeful that their involvement will help secure the long-term future of the club.

Local businessmen Michael Mullins, Dennis Hush and Keith Amers have joined as non-executive directors along with Scott Courtney, who is the new team manager, and his brother Jamie.

They join fellow directors John and Ryan Anderson, George Hepburn, and Dennis McCleary and Malcolm Leighton, who are also members of the management structure.

“It’s no secret,” said John Anderson, who is the promoter, “that as a club we were close to the edge last season.

“I couldn’t have continued to put money in at the level I was and expect the club to survive, which was why we made our appeal for help. Thankfully, these lads have come forward and I am extremely grateful for their help and their input. They have been so positive, have come up with a few ideas, and I am looking forward to working with them.”

The new members say they have all made a financial input and have done so because they want to see the club survive.

At a meeting at Shielfield on Monday, Mullins said: “Personally I am not a speedway fan, but I want to see the club thrive. We want to try and create some positivity by helping keep the speedway going.”

Monday’s meeting was held in the boardroom at Shielfield, the home of Berwick Rangers, and co-promoter McCleary said this showed they had already established a better working relationship with the football club.

“That is something we want to encourage and build on,” he said, “and hopefully we will have more news on that in the future.”

Anderson added: “We are confident the newcomers will help us with our networking, help us get things moving in the right direction, but we know we also need to have a bit of luck - something we haven’t always had in the past.”